Americana: Radio City Music Hall

Radio City Music Hall is an art deco palace known today for its Christmas Spectacular. Uploaded by emarketing360.com. Copyright 2005 Sharpresolution, LLC.

Imagine every man, woman, and child in America inside the art deco palace called Radio City Music Hall. Wait! Not all at once! My latent claustrophobia just kicked in big time. But since its opening in 1932, it’s estimated that 300 million people have attended an event here. A movie. A stage show. A concert. An awards show. A Christmas spectacular.

Radio City Music Hall auditorium. Uploaded by confabulicious.com.

Radio City Music Hall is part of the sprawling Rockefeller Center complex, which transformed midtown New York City during the 1930s. The Hall seats just shy of 6,000 people and describes itself as “the largest indoor theater in the world.” For years, the really big movies held their premieres here, such as King Kong, White Christmas, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Even today, select films debut here, such as the Harry Potter movies.

Of course, I can’t discuss Radio City Music Hall without mentioning its main draw in our time: The Christmas Spectacular. It’s a holiday tradition that entertains more than a million people each year. It’s been a regular event in some form since 1933, and features the Rockettes, the Parade of the Wooden Soldiers and, of course, the Living Nativity. It’s a show worthy of the palace that has always been America’s favorite theater.